I Look To You
by justanotherwalkingmusical
Summary: Rachel struggles with bullying and home problems, and Quinn tries to help as best as she can. WARNING: Dramatic content involving self-harm, drug use, physical violence, and the like. Faberry with Puckleberry and Quinntana friendship.
1. One

The lights blinded the blonde as she sprinted into the emergency room. It was 2:00 in the morning when she answered the call from a familiar number, expecting wonderful news about the day's events. At 2:05, she realized that wasn't the case. She bolted into the small town's only hospital at 2:13. By 2:15, she was pounding on the cold counter in front of her, demanding the nurse tell her where the brunette's room was. A few minutes later, a tall dark-skinned man walked up to her. His normal toothy smile was gone. It had been replaced with a quivering lip and glassy eyes. His arms felt foreign as he enveloped her in a soggy hug. Her tense body went limp in his embrace as she understood that she was too late. At 2:26 on a Saturday morning, one of the only people that ever truly matter to Quinn Fabray was taken from her life forever.

* * *

><p>Rachel walked into the choir room with her head low. She tried to avoid anyone noticing her, which was normally so simple. Nobody in the club really cared for her very much. She assumed it would be easy to sneak away into the back corner. As she sat down, safely avoiding eye contact with any other students, she relaxed. Everybody seemed to be caught up in whatever they were doing. She glanced around the room at the teenagers she wanted to call peers. Kurt was busy chatting away with Mercedes about the shopping they needed to do. Tina and Mike were busy whispering in each other's ears; and Sam was playing his guitar nearby with Artie mimicking the more elaborate chords in runs. Finn and Puck were discussing football, Xbox, and football <em>on<em>Xbox. Brittany walked in with her pinkie comfortably intertwined with Santana's. Lauren would probably be late again, if she even bothered to show up this time.

Rachel sighed as she opened up the binder that held all her sheet music and vocal notes for various different club members. She tried desperately to win them all over, but her personality made it too difficult for the majority of them to tolerate her, let alone befriend her. She flipped through the thoroughly detailed notes and came to a stop when she saw Quinn's. Realizing the blonde's absence, Rachel wondered of her whereabouts. They shared most of their classes due to the limited space for AP students. Quinn had been in every class. Rachel even spotted the other girl walking into the ladies room while she hurried off to Glee. The brunette always had certain sense of worry when it came to Quinn Fabray. Ever since her dramatic scene in the bathroom during prom, the former cheerleader seemed to be coming unhinged.

Thankfully, she wasn't the only one to notice the missing girl. While she debated calling attention to herself, she heard Finn speaking to Puck.

"Where's Mr. Schue?" Finn asked as he looked around the room.

"I don't know." Puck shrugged nonchalantly. "He's probably just fighting with Sylvester somewhere."

"What about Quinn?" He asked, sitting up in his chair.

It stung Rachel when she heard Finn say the other girl's name with so much care. After he broke up with her and left her at a funeral with no way home, she decided he had no right to her. The fact that he tried to maintain a friendship was just ridiculous. It became apparent that Quinn shared the same feeling as Rachel. The starlet couldn't help but notice Quinn rolling her eyes every time Finn exchanged friendly comments or flashed her one of his goofy smiles. Finn however, being the daft kid he was, didn't pick up on the hints. In fact, he saw the other girl's lack of response as an invitation for more attempts at redemption.

"Dude, she's never going to like you again, okay? Stop trying to be her damn friend. She seriously wants nothing to do with you." Puck said, obviously annoyed by his so-called friend.

"Whatever, man. You don't know what's going on with us." He replied. Rachel couldn't help but roll her eyes at the monstrous boy's elementary-level retorts. "Besides, I just wanted to know where she was. She's usually not late for anything."

"I'll go check the bathroom," Santana said. She was clearly eavesdropping on the boys' conversation, just like Rachel was. "She was walking in when I left." Brittany lifted her legs off of the Latina's lap where they were resting luxuriously moments before. They stood together and left for the restroom.

Once they left, Puck and Finn continued with their conversation as Rachel tried to remain invisible. Kurt looked over at her, furrowing his brow at her ensemble. He moved over a few chairs and leaned towards her. Rachel panicked as he whispered to her.

"You know, Rachel." He said, unsuccessfully trying not to draw attention to them "I'm all for trying something new, but summer is drawing near and you're dressed like a baby Eskimo." She heard Mercedes snicker several seats away. "As for the glasses, we're inside now. You don't have to hide your precious eyes from the fluorescent lighting. Granted, it might do positively nothing for your complexion, but it's nothing to be afraid of." He said, smiling at her.

Rachel chuckled a bit at the boy in front of her. He was only trying to be friendly. She smiled at him and sweetly replied "I appreciate the attention, Kurt, but it's a simple precaution. I had my eyes dilated this weekend, thus making them more sensitive to light than usual." she grinned, tapping the sides of her sun glasses. "As for your comparison between my ensemble and that of a child living in Alaska, I find that rather farfetched. I'm only wearing long sleeves, whereas Eskimos typically wear large coats made out of the skin and fur of various different animals. As you well know, I am a proud vegan; so wearing the usual attire for a 'baby Eskimo' would not set well with me."

Kurt's smile faltered for a moment as he tried to decipher if what she said was an insult, or just Rachel being her usual overly articulate self. Before he had the chance to decide, he jolted forward. Mr. Schuester entered the classroom and clapped his hands together loudly, gaining everyone's attention. Kurt moved back to Mercedes, giving Rachel one last look of confusion. Mr. Schue turned to the board and proceeded to write "Family" in large black letters, circling it to better emphasize the lesson he was about to teach. Before he started on his predictable speech about togetherness and learning to love everyone in the group like members of their families, Santana and Brittany walked in with Quinn in between them. The taller girls sandwiched the tiny blonde, giving her no room to escape.

"Sorry we're late Mr. Schue," Santana said, wrapping an arm around Quinn's waist. "Just getting the rest of our crew together." She flashed him a smile that looked more like a sneer from Rachel's view. He nodded at them, and the three girls sat down together in the back row, only a couple seats away.

"Now guys," Mr. Schuester said, bouncing right back into his cliché lesson. "This week I want us to focus on learning how to love everyone in the group like they're a member of our own family. I want each of you to pick a song about togetherness and sing it for the class. I don't care if it's a duet, a trio, or a solo. I just want to feel the love!" he said euphorically. His crooked smile indicated that he was not only serious, but that he probably thought this was the best idea that ever popped into his head; even though Rachel suspected it was more Ms. Pillsbury's idea than his. He clapped his hands together again and pumped both his fists forward in encouragement. "I have confidence in you guys." He said. His voice was tender and kind. He really did have the upmost faith in his students.

As he made his way to his office, Rachel watched the room slowly come to life. Mercedes and Kurt both helped each other brainstorm for their individual song selections, Sam and Artie decided to partner up since they already had a pretty good "thing" going. Santana and Brittany said they had sheet music in their lockers and left the room, although Rachel doubted either of them read music, let alone withheld sheets of it in their lockers. Tina and Mike didn't even move from their spots. They stayed wrapped in each other's arms and talked about their typical song-and-dance combo. Puck pulled out his phone. He was probably asking Lauren where she was, since the two of them were an apparent item. Seeing this as a dismissal, Finn stood up and looked around the room. Rachel quickly diverted her attention to the music in her lap, trying to make it apparent that she had no intention of singing with him. She couldn't sing a song with him again. It always ended with a terribly awkward situation. Either Finn fell in love with Rachel, or vice versa. She refused to put herself through that again.

She flipped through the music to Mama Who Bore Me which was a wildly inappropriate song for this situation, but Finn wouldn't know that. She heard him walking towards her and she felt herself getting nervous. Just as she was about to start humming the song rather loudly, she heard his voice.

"Hey Quinn," he said to the girl glowering beneath him.

Rachel's eyes darted up to him. Surely he wouldn't have the audacity to ask this girl if she wanted to perform a duet with him. Surely his intelligence surpassed even _that_level of stupidity.

"I was wondering if maybe you wanted to do a duet with me," he offered.

Rachel had been wrong before.

"I just thought, you know, since we sounded so awesome the last time we sang together, maybe we could give another shot." He grinned at her and shoved his hands in his pockets, trying to seem like the adorable star child he used to be.

Quinn just pursed her lips together and closed her eyes. Rachel knew that if Finn continued talking, the blonde would explode. If she yelled at Finn, he would yell back, and that would only lead to the entire club being put in an awful side-choosing position.

Still, Finn pursued.

"I figured we could try some classic rock, you know?" He sat down next her, causing Rachel to have to use her peripherals which weren't in their best shape due to the glasses on her face. Still, she listened quietly.

"I really think we owe it to one another to try and sing a song together. You know, like, a song about forgiveness and burning dams or whatever." Rachel shook her head at his horrible attempt to sound intellectual. She knew he meant burning _bridges_, but she doubted the other girl cared enough to even try to understand. "I know we sort of have this past, but I want to put that behind us. I want us to be friends. I did some awful things, and so did you-"

Rachel felt her heart stop.

Quinn's eye bolted open "_Excuse me?_" she hissed.

"Well sure," he said, not picking up on his cue to stop talking. "I mean, we both did stuff we regret, right? Like you and Puck, and Sam, and me. You know, I did some sort of bad stuff too. Like with Santana. But I think we should-"

"_What?_" Quinn said, her voice growing much louder. They were all doomed if Finn didn't just shut the hell up and walk away.

"Come one, Quinn, don't try to act all innocent. I'm trying to say we're in the same place. We're on the same floor, or whatever." He was getting frustrated as well. The other club members were staring at this point, but none of them would step in.

"Actually, Finn." Rachel said, surprised that her voice was the first to say anything. The others seemed shocked as well. Puck held his phone up, ready to record whatever smack down Finn might have coming. "You two aren't on the same level," she said, correcting him gently. "Quinn obviously has no interest in redemption, and I advise you to end your conversation with her before this predicament grows out of hand. None of us want to deal with choosing sides, like you always make us do." She looked up at him, giving him a look of sincerity that he predictably couldn't see. "Trust me, it would benefit everyone if you just do a solo." she said, offering him a solemn smile.

He pouted and stomped away, grumbling under his breath about "stupid girls" and their lack of ability to "let things go".

After Finn left, everyone went back to their conversation without missing a beat, as if they didn't even witness what happened. Puck put his phone away and pouted as he walked over to Artie and Sam. He always liked it when Rachel gave one of her smart speeches to Finn. The fact that the tall boy could barely comprehend an average adult conversation made it even more amusing. His face always went blank as he attempted to understand what Rachel said to him. Puck nodded to his fellow Jew as he sat down with the other guys, and offered his services. Rachel smiled to herself at the victory. Then, she remembered the girl she was trying to help. She turned to look at Quinn, only to find her staring back. Her eyes were cold and gave away no emotion.

"What was that about?" She asked. Usually, her words only came out as daggers when she talked to Rachel. This time she sounded genuinely curious.

"I just wanted to help." Rachel said quietly, tucking her hair behind her ear. "I knew that if he kept rambling on with no intention of listening to your blatant distaste for him, it would only lead to the two of you at each other's throats." She looked up at Quinn and decided not to push her limit by saying she didn't want the other girl to go through another fight with him. Her relationship with the blonde was still only pre-friendship. Actually, their relationship was more post-loathing on Quinn's part. She didn't want to risk jumping the gun and going too fast.

Quinn simply nodded and eyed the tiny girl. The silence was growing uncomfortable for Rachel, so she decided to try and keep up the conversation without focusing on such a negative topic.

"Have you given any thought to who you're going to work with?" She asked, twiddling her fingers. "I heard you singing with Santana and Brittany on a few occasions. If you all worked hard enough, I'm quite confident that you three would sound perfectly nice."

"What happened to you?" She asked, staring into the other girl's glasses.

"Oh," Rachel said, chuckling. "I had my eyes dilated this weekend."

"That only takes a couple of hours, and then your eyes go back to normal." She replied quickly

"It's a simple precaution, Quinn. I don't want to ruin my-"

"You're not stupid, and you're not crazy." She said bluntly. The statement caught Rachel off guard. No one in the glee club would question her intellect, but many stipulated her sanity. She glanced around the room quickly before laughing quietly.

"Consider yourself lucky that no one else heard that." Rachel said. "I'd hate for my allusion to be shattered so easily." She smiled, planning on changing the topic as she normally did.

"I'm serious, Berry. What happened to you and why are you hiding it from everyone?"

Rachel looked down at her hands. They were shaking ever so slightly. Very few people were able to make her this nervous. She made a note to herself to inquire the reasoning later.  
>"I appreciate your apparent concern, but it really isn't anyone's business but my own." She said; her voice barely over a whisper. She cleared her throat and pasted on her smile."Now if you'll excuse me, I need to use the ladies room."<p>

Rachel rose to her feet and darted out of the choir room. She hurried past Santana and Brittany, who were on their way back to the club. Neither of them had sheet music in their hand, but they seemed to be quite please with themselves. The brunette had no time to question them. She had to get away from the people in that tiny room.  
>She ran into the bathroom, and thanked God that the school was empty already. She pulled off her glasses and stared at the marks on her face. Her bangs covered the scratch on her forehead well enough; but the bruise on her eye was making itself more apparent, since Rachel had neglected to reapply any makeup since she left for school that morning. She quickly pulled out the compact in her jacket pocket and dabbed the foundation to her eye. Pain shot through her face as she pressed a particularly sore spot. Thankfully, it wasn't as large as the ones on her body. She lifted up her shirt to check the black and blue mass on her ribs. It had gotten smaller, thankfully; and the edges were turning a rather gruesome shade of yellow. Rachel sighed. At least that meant it was healing.<p>

The cuts on her knees and legs were itching, but she kept herself from giving in. It would look odd if she randomly started to scratch herself. That would only bring more negative attention to her. She was perfectly content with being a "freak" most of the time, but she knew that rumors would turn her itchy legs into something bizarre and barbaric. One kid might say she got fleas from camping, and then by the end of the day everyone would assume she was a werewolf of some sort.

She placed her hand on the bruise and thought of the event that put it there. Her eyes began to water as she reminisced. To keep from ruining her freshly caked on makeup, Rachel took a deep breath and pressed her finger tips on her bottom eyelids. The tears collected on her hot fingers. She drew them away and washed her hands in the sink. The cool water calmed her and allowed her to drain all the negative feelings out. Then she allowed herself to leave the positive feelings behind as well. She walked out of the restroom feeling numb.

Any emotion she felt was gone now, leaving the actress to do what she did best; lie.


	2. Two

Quinn watched as the other girl got up and left, leaving her binder behind. She considered running out after her. She could easily catch up with her if she really wanted to. She far surpassed Rachel when it came to cardio, thanks to cheerleading. She nodded to herself and decided it was best to go after her and figure things out.

As she stood up to go after the diva, Santana and Brittany walked in. The girls left for sheet music a while ago, and returned with empty hands. She watched as Brittany whispered into Santana's ear, making the other girl blush and smile nervously. Quinn simply rolled her eyes. Santana caught her eye and walked over to her, Brittany falling right in step.

"You make Rachel cry again, Fabray?" Santana chuckled. "You know, if you keep making her run out of the room, she's never going to like you." She sat down in Rachel's seat, picking up her binder and looking through it.

"I don't care what she thinks of me." Quinn snapped, ignoring the Latina's obvious disregard for other people's belongings. "And I didn't make her cry _or_ run out of the room, smart ass."

"Well," Brittany said, sitting on the other side of Quinn. "If you didn't make her run away, what did?" She asked, genuinely curious. Her concern was clear and made the blonde sigh as she sat down between her two friends.

"I don't know, Britt." She said, giving in beneath the weight of the other girl's care. "I was just asking why she was wearing those glasses. She said it was because she got her eyes dilated. I called her bluff and she just got up and left." she paused and looked at her feet. "I feel kind of bad about it."

Santana shifted and cleared her throat, getting both the blondes' attention. "If you really want to know what she's hiding under her glasses, I could pin her down and you could rip them off." She shrugged. "Shouldn't be too hard since she's the smallest person I've ever seen."

Quinn guffawed. "Yeah," she said sarcastically "_That_ will make her like me." She crossed her arms and angled her body away from Santana.

The other girl laughed as the blonde moved away. "I thought you didn't care what she thought of you." She said; laughing harder as Quinn blushed. "Face it Q, for whatever reason, you want that loud little twerp in your life."

"She's not a twerp," Quinn said without thinking. "And so what if I want to be her friend? Why is that so wrong?" She asked the brunette. She could tell she was sounding too defensive, but she couldn't stop herself at this point.

The other girls just smiled at her. It pissed Quinn off a bit. They clearly didn't believe she just wanted to be Rachel's friend, but it was true. There weren't any ulterior motives this time; neither had relationships for the other to sabotage or competitions to worry about. Things were okay for now. Quinn just wanted to give Rachel a chance. God knows she owed the girl at least that much after everything the blonde put her through.

"Whatever," Santana said, breaking Quinn from her thoughts. "I don't care if you want to be the hobbit's friend, but you might want to work on your people skills if that be the case." Quinn stared at Santana in disbelief.

"_I'm_ the one with bad people skills? Are you sure about that?" She asked, laughing at her friend

Santana shrugged. "I've got superb people skills. I just choose not to use them unless necessary. You, on the other hand, completely lack the basic techniques of a people person."

"Sometimes you can be really scary." Brittany agreed.

Quinn looked between her two friends and sighed. "I know," she said, putting her face in her palms. "But I don't know how to make friends. I was taught to intimidate people to get what I wanted." She looked up at Santana. "If you're such a pro at it, why don't you teach me?" She challenged.

The Latina laughed. "Well rule number one is pretty simple" She said, leaning in for Quinn to hear her whisper. "Don't try to court someone into doing what you want. It turns the friendship into a competition and things get messy really fast." She backed away and eyed the blonde. "Try again."

Quinn rolled her eyes. "Santana, just tell me what to do!" She barked. Needing the brunette's help was bad enough. She didn't want to be made a fool of.

Santana shook her head. "Demands don't work either. You come across as rude and bitchy." She quickly looked around the room. Her eyes darted from person to person until they landed on Puck. "Watch and learn." she smirked at Quinn.

"Hey, Puck" She said gently to the boy sitting a few rows in front of her. He turned around and looked at her. "Could you grab me some sheet music from the piano, please?" She smiled politely.

Puck smiled back at her. "Sure thing," he said, getting up and walking to the piano. He handed it to her and she thanked him. "No problem. "He nodded as he sat back down with Sam and Artie.

The blonde watched in amazement as the girl said "please" and "thank you." She always saw Santana tearing others down. She knew the girl had a nice streak when it came to Brittany, and sometimes Quinn; but every other time she just assumed the Latina was in automatic bitch mode.

"See," Santana said. "I was nice to him, so he treated me kindly. It's a common courtesy most people pick up in elementary school. That whole 'treat others the way they treat you' thing sticks with us."

"You mean 'treat others the way you want to be treated'" Quinn corrected.

"No, actually," Santana said, shaking her head. "That's a load of bullshit."

Brittany nodded with the brunette. "Nobody likes it when people are mean to them," she said "but they're mean anyway because that's how they were treated."

"Exactly," Santana agreed. "Usually, people are jerks because someone was a jack ass to them when they were most impressionable." She looked at Quinn and saw the question forming in her eyes. "That's not why I'm a bitch." She said, quickly avoiding her interrogation. "Back to the lesson," she said. "This is what happens when you're rude to someone."

She looked over at Tina and Mike who were carefully sifting through music on Tina's iPod. "Hey, Asian" she exclaimed. They both looked up, obviously annoyed. "Not you, devil's mistress. I'm talking to twinkle toes."

Mike rolled his eyes slightly. "What, Santana?" he asked.

"Make yourself useful and get me some sheet music. I don't have enough." She said bluntly. She pulled out a nail file and began working on her nails. When neither of them moved, she looked back up. "Well?" She asked. This was the bitchy Santana that Quinn saw every day.

Mike sighed and got up to get the sheet music, but Tina pulled his arm and sat him back down. "You can get your own paper, Santana." Tina said, glaring at the other girl. "You don't need to be so rude." She turned away from the brunette and got back to work on their song selection, Mike following quickly.

Santana smiled and looked at Quinn "Notice the different outcomes with the different attitudes." she said. "If you're nice, you get what you want, and you get the chance to befriend whomever you were talking to. Continue to be nasty, and you can kiss your chances of friendship goodbye." she smiled. She allowed Quinn to soak it all up and try to grasp what was happening. After a few moments of silence, she said "Try again."

Quinn looked up at the Latina. If she wanted to be Rachel's friend, she knew she had to put forth an effort. After giving it a little thought, she decided honesty would be the best way out.

"Alright" she nodded as she glanced back up at Santana. "You know that I'm not the friendliest person in our school, but I really want to try and fix that. Do you think you could help me out?" She smiled nervously, hoping she said it right this time. The brunette looked over at Brittany, and then back at Quinn. She raised her eyebrows and bowed her head towards the blonde. "Please?" Quinn added, trying not to sound too pathetic as she said it. She hated asking for things, but she knew that's what she needed to learn.

Santana smiled at her "That's more like it," she said. She wrapped an arm around Quinn and pulled her close. The two of them had their differences some times, but they were always there for each other when it came right down to it. "Now," she said, pulling away. "The time has come to teach you how to apologize."

Quinn laughed at the thought of Santana apologizing for anything. "Are you kidding? Have you _ever_ said sorry for anything?" The light-hearted jab was enough to make Santana smack the blonde's arm.

"Shut up and listen to me." She looked at Quinn seriously. The blonde quieted her laughter and paid attention. "When you apologize, you have to realize what you did was wrong, or it doesn't mean anything." Santana's eyes flickered to Brittany's for a moment. "You need to know that what you did hurt that person, and you have to really mean what you say or you might as well not even say it."

There was a moment of silence between the three girls. Quinn felt extremely uncomfortable when the two of them got like this. They really thought they were fooling people; and maybe they were, but the head of the group noticed their bond in cheerleading camp freshman year. She caught the two of them staring at each other more often than she'd care to admit. Just last year she walked in on them during movie night at Santana's. Needless to say, they held movie night at Quinn's house now. Even _they_ didn't have the guts to do all that in the blonde's house. They knew if she caught them in her own home, they would never make it out alive.

Quinn waited long enough before clearing her throat. She brought Santana's attention back to her and hoped she didn't piss the other girl off. To her relief, the Latina just acted like she didn't pause for a moment and continued with her predictably rehearsed speech.

"Anyway," she said, smiling widely at Quinn. "You've got to apologize to Rachel for whatever you did that made her run out of the room. I don't really expect you to mean it as much as you should right now, but just saying the words is a nice start. You already said that you felt bad for what you did, so say it." She nodded and the blonde, as if expecting her to know what to say off the top of her head. Santana rolled her eyes when she got no response. "Look, pretend I'm her, okay? This is like practice for when the troll comes back."

"She's not a troll!" Quinn snapped. She was shocked when the words came out with such opposition. She wasn't even friends with Rachel, yet. Why was she defending her like this?

Santana laughed at her friend's facial expression. "You really have no filter, do you?" Quinn felt her cheeks get red as she stared down at her feet again. "We've always had that in common" She giggled. Santana didn't make the situation any worse, and the blonde reminded herself to repay her somehow. "Pretend I'm her. Close your eyes if you have to. Say what you want to say to her."

The room got louder as Puck, Artie, and Sam began to sing together. Sam and Puck were playing their guitars as Artie opened with his killer runs. Quinn was thankful that they were getting louder, so the possibility of someone else hearing her fell drastically low. However, the noise made it a little difficult for the blonde to think. She stumbled over the words in her head, and she felt Santana glaring at her. The Latina probably assumed Quinn was trying to think of a way out of this. She felt her eyes on her like daggers. She couldn't help but wonder if this is how Rachel felt when Quinn looked at her so many times. She felt the music getting louder, making her thought process even hazier. The brunette's glare turned into a concerned gaze. She felt Santana growing weary, but she also felt her care. She knew that Santana was there for her. Quinn felt her stomach turning as Rachel entered her mind again. Did Rachel ever feel that when the blonde looked at her? Her thoughts trailed back to all the times Rachel performed or gave a speech for the class. Maybe Quinn acted a little irritated, but did the other girl feel that? Perhaps she saw through what Quinn held in her eyes and read what hid behind them. Rachel had done it before. Quinn wanted to repay her for everything she did. The music grew louder as the boys clomped and rolled around the room. She couldn't think straight. Her head began to hurt, but rubbing her temples didn't help. Santana was still looking at her, a little worried now. "Quinn?" She put her hand on the blonde's shoulder to steady her. Nobody else noticed. The boys were too busy making too much goddamn noise for anyone to hear anything. She looked up into Santana's brown eyes and tried to stop herself.

"I'm so fucking sorry." She whispered, staring into the other girl's eyes. "I'm sorry for everything I ever did to you. You didn't deserve it. You needed a friend, and I tore you down. I had friends and a boyfriend to back me up when I was pregnant, but you were still there anyway. You're a good person, and I was awful to you." She looked down at her hands, out of breath from the commotion. Luckily, her voice was barely over a whisper. She wasn't even sure if Santana heard all the things she said; but the Latina knew that Quinn was feeling what she needed to feel. Santana placed her hand under the blonde's chin and brought her vision back up to her eyes. A smile was painted on her face.

"There you go," she said, pulling Quinn into a hug. "That's my girl." Brittany joined in on the hug, even though it was apparent that she was watching the boys for most of the ordeal. Quinn smiled as her friends swayed to the music and sang along.

"Oh, and a word to the wise, Fabray," Santana whispered in her ear. "I wouldn't unleash all that emotion on the first try." Quinn scowled and looked away. She knew she did it wrong. She couldn't do anything right, so why should this be any different? "But hey," she added "I'm damn proud of you, Q." She kissed the blonde's forehead and pulled out of their hug, announcing that she had to use the restroom, and offered her hand to Brittany. The blonde took it without hesitation.

"Your gay is showing, Lopez." Quinn chuckled. Santana stuck her tongue out at the girl and left.

As the girls walked out, pinkies intertwined as usual, Quinn couldn't help but grin. She was infinitely happy for her friends. They found their balance. Santana was a bitch that hated the world, but Brittany changed that. She brought out the best in the Latina. Brittany, on the other hand, trusted too easily. Santana wouldn't dream of changing anything about the dancer, but she wasn't against standing up for her. Quinn witnessed several "Lima Heights" beatings because someone hurt Brittany in one way or another. Say what you want about the girl, but when Santana had your back, you were virtually untouchable.

Quinn questioned if she would ever have something like that with someone. She inquired possible futures with the boys she'd been with in the past, but it was all about standards. She never really considered feeling anything for them. It was always about power. She wondered if someone could ever change that; if she would ever have a Brittany-Santana love story.

Her mind went blank as she watched a tiny brunette enter the room. Maybe one day, she could happy like Rachel.

Maybe one day, she could be happy _with_ Rachel. Maybe they could be friends.


	3. Three

**A.N:  
>Sorry if anybody actually reading this is upset about my absence. Things have been rough around here lately and I was a tad distracted. Hopefully, I'll be able to update more regularly. Also, I noticed a few typos in my past two chapters, and I'm sorry. I don't have a beta or anything and I guess I'm not too observant. I tried to avoid it with this one, but if you see any, please don't kill me for it. Thanks!<strong>

* * *

><p>Rachel walked back into the choir room. Her makeup was perfect, as was her smile. Her confidence had refueled and it was quite visible. The bounce in her step could only be matched with the lightness in her eyes. She strode across the room to collect her binder. When she opened it, she noticed that Quinn's paper was missing. All ease halted as she shuffled through her carefully organized papers. She spent hours listening to the blonde sing on her vocal recordings to get the right information needed to better her already lovely voice. She began to sift through her sheet music as well, hoping to find something. Finally, a bright yellow paper caught Rachel's eye. She pulled it out of the improper place and allowed her smile to reappear. Someone had drawn a tiny star in the very bottom corner of the paper. She felt herself begin to laugh.<p>

"Have any fun in the bathroom lately?" a voice asked. Rachel turned to see Quinn smirking at her. The blonde raise an eyebrow to suggest an innuendo that was painfully transparent, even to Rachel.

"I don't know," the brunette replied, mirroring the girl's tone. "Look through any of my stuff lately?" She held the sheet up as evidence and began to laugh as the girl stared at her. "I don't mind," she said. "But next time, please notify me. I have a certain way of organizing my belongings so they're more attainable and easier to locate in case the situation calls for it. It unsettles me when something isn't where I left it."

She sat herself down and placed Quinn's paper back where it belonged, simpering again at the little star. She wondered if the blonde understood their significance. The few conversations they had were rarely about her interests. In fact, most of their conversations felt more like confrontations. Through all the voiced distain that was shared between them, Rachel couldn't help but remembered her first encounter with Quinn Fabray. They were so young, and both girls had changed so much since then. She doubted the blonde even remembered it.

"I didn't look through your stuff." Quinn stated. There was no anger in her voice. She didn't even sound defensive or offended in any way. It caught Rachel off guard. "Santana sat there while you were gone and, well" She shrugged her shoulders and looked at the binder sitting in the starlet's lap. "You know how Santana is."

Rachel nodded. It seemed plausible enough. She didn't really fancy the idea of the Latina rummaging through her belongings, but it did sound like something Santana would do. "That make sense." she said. "I'll have you know that she starred your paper." she took the sheet out and handed it to Quinn. "See? Right there at the bottom." The blonde looked as confused by the doodle as Rachel. "Any theories as to why she'd have the urge to vandalize my perfectly detailed notes and proceed to hide them from me?"

Quinn just laughed. "If she was really trying to hide them, I can guarantee you wouldn't have found them. Not that quickly, anyway. She's probably just messing with you." Rachel looked at the other girl quizzically. What purpose did this serve? The Latina wasn't even there to witness it. The brunette just shook her head and reached out to take the paper back. Quinn pulled it away from her. "Hey! It's about me, I think I deserve to-"the blonde paused. Her face scrunched up as she closed her eyes and cursed to herself. "Sorry. Let me try that again. Do you mind if I read this?" She asked politely. Her stop-and-go choppiness confused Rachel a bit, but it was nice to see that the girl actually possessed _some_ manners.

"Um, sure" she said as her arm backtracked onto her lap. She smoothed out her skirt and watched as the other girl began to read. "Please don't be offended by anything I may have written. It's all strictly professional. I left all personal affiliations out of my dedicated hours of vocal research." She expected some sort of response, but had no such luck. She couldn't even tell what the blonde was thinking. That's one of her qualities that both impressed, and intimated Rachel. Quinn's ability to mask emotion was equal to her own, although the blonde had a habit of slipping up and breaking down; typically in front of her. Rachel knew this girl better than most of the kids in glee club, set aside Santana and Brittany. Her eyes seemed to be filled with some sort of emotion, but Rachel couldn't quite identify it. Judging by the spark in her eyes and the furrow of her brow, Quinn was either intrigued or upset. Rachel's heart beat was steady, moving at a slow pace, but it felt like it was beating harder than usual. The deep thudding seemed to slow things down and worry her even more. Head nodding, the blonde's eyes went back to the top to reread. The passion in her eyes became more apparent, and Rachel sighed in relief as she came to conclusion that Quinn's feelings weren't hurt.

"You know, you're right about most of this." the other girl said abruptly, eyes still on the paper. "Some of it, I didn't know about, but the other stuff…" She trailed off and handed the paper back to Rachel. "You've got a great ear; but I'm sure you already knew that." The brunette beamed at the compliment. People always complimented her voice, and they really had no reason not to, but nobody ever agreed with her opinion. If they did, they never told her. Sometimes Finn would stand up for her to better his "leadership skills" and people often came to terms with her when they knew it would benefit them personally. Quinn on the other hand, just through this statement out into the open like it was no big deal. It probably shouldn't be to Rachel, but it felt good for someone to value her opinion without any undisclosed purpose.

Before she had the chance to express her gratitude, Mr. Schuester walked out of his office to end the meeting. Sometimes, Rachel wondered what he did in there for the length of their time together. He was always out for the beginning, to tell the class what they would be doing for the week, and he would show up for the end, when the students presented their lessons. He would help choreograph from time to time, but usually he just left that up to Mike and Brittany. Other than those times, the man always seemed to be in his office or with another teacher.

"Okay guys, I hope you all have some idea with what direction you're going. I expect you all to dig up that emotion deep down inside of you. I encourage you all to work on these over the break. This one's really important. We might even use it at Regional's!" By the time he finished talking, most of the class was already packed up, and getting prepared to leave. Brittany and Santana returned yet again to retrieve their belongings and discuss their weekend plans with Quinn. The duo cut off their conversation without realizing it, so Rachel decided it best to just follow her teammates' lead and prepare for the short time off. Her binder was already perfectly organized, and she checked her jacket pockets to make sure everything she needed was still there. Sure enough, she felt the round disc of her cold compact brush against her fingertips. It was like a breath of fresh air when she felt it. Maybe she couldn't prevent the things that happened to her, but it was comforting to know that the thing that kept others from noticing was close to her, resting safely in her pocket.

As she walked out of the choir room, she felt a strong arm sling itself around her neck. She looked up to see Noah grinning at her. "'Sup my little Jewish princess?" He pulled her closer and kissed the side of her head. Rachel smiled back up at him in greeting. "Why didn't you vaporize Hudson back there? I was seriously looking forward to some back talk." he said as his smile drooped into a pout.

The brunette gave Noah a friendly shove before answering him. "I was trying to _avoid_ conflict, Noah. I hate it when they fight. Finn either gets mad at me for agreeing with Quinn, or uses me to prove his point. It's juvenile and unnecessary. I didn't want to go through that again."

"Whatever." He shrugged before stopping abruptly. Puck's smile relit his face as he hopped in front of the girl. He put his massive hands on her shoulders and practically bounced in excitement. "You're coming over this weekend, right? I got this new video game I've been dying to try! We planned this, like, last week. You can't say no." he begged the brunette. His eyes suddenly made themselves appear much younger and more innocent. Rachel loved seeing this side of Noah. How could she refuse?

"Fine," she exasperated. She couldn't help but smile as he threw his fist into the air. "But I do plan to work on our assignment this weekend, so I can't stay for _too_ long. I didn't get much done today."

Puck chuckled as he fell back in step with the surprisingly speedy girl. "Yeah, right." he beamed. "It's a wonder you got anything done at all since you spent half your time in the bathroom and the other half flirting it up with baby mama." Rachel punched his arm, but it didn't keep him from laughing.

"I wasn't flirting!" She squealed. That only made the boy laugh more. The brunette cleared her throat and tried again. "I wasn't flirting, Noah. We were talking about music; a fairly normal thing to discuss in _show choir_." She hoped her emphasis was heavy enough to make Puck realize his silly mistake. "And you shouldn't call her baby mama." She said. Her sympathy for the girl has been clear since the day she found out about the pregnancy. She knew how hard it must have been to give up that little angel. She also understood how difficult it would be for Beth to grow up without knowing her mother. "It was a difficult time for both of you, and I think it hurts her when you bring it up like that."

Puck guffawed at her attempt to empathize for the blonde. "Dude, you're so in love with her. If you two ever make a sex tape, I expect a copy the day after it happens." he smiled. Rachel merely laughed. The statement came mostly from his "sex shark" façade. He tried to maintain his tough boy attitude, even though the only people on campus at this time were the ones that saw him at his weakest point. However, she had no right to try and make him express his true feelings when she knew she'd never do the same. Instead, she simply went a long with his fantasy, sarcasm dripping from every word.

"Of course, Noah; what was I thinking?" She smiled flirtatiously. Her tongue ran over her lips as she looked forward, feeling his eyes on her. "If I can ever convince Quinn, you _know_ you'd be the first to own a copy." She trailed her fingers over his abs before sending him over the edge. "Maybe I can even convince her to let you join."

Puck stumbled and choked a bit. Rachel roared when she saw his feet get twisted and forced his body to slam awkwardly into the lockers. She couldn't help teasing this poor boy. It was just so easy! For a guy that acted like a total stud, he was quite simple to break down. She calmed herself a bit before starting up again, taken over by a fit of giggles. Noah told her to shut up, but she truly couldn't. It had been so long since she laughed so freely. She missed the feeling. Finally he just stopped and let her release all her obnoxious chortles and little wheezes. When she eventually got a hold of herself, they began to walk down the hall again.

"That wasn't fair." He said. His monotone voice made Rachel smile, but she controlled her convulsions this time. Instead she looked up and opened her mouth to give him a long speech about how he should careful for the things he wished for, and shouldn't be so easily fooled.

Before she got the chance to begin her lecture, she heard a familiar voice calling out her name. She turned around to see Quinn waving at her, signaling to walk towards her. Rachel obeyed and told Noah to wait for her. He nodded and made himself comfortable against the lockers. The girls met halfway, and the brunette waited to learn why she was summoned. Quinn eyed the boy leaning against the metal with his back turned to them. "What's going on?" She asked suspiciously.

Rachel turned back to make sure she was looking at something she could explain. She followed her eyes to Noah and quickly annotated. "We're going over to his house to-"she stopped herself, assuming it wouldn't help her reputation at all if she told the truth. How many girls had a friendship like her and Noah's? Video games weren't a very popular subject amongst girls, and Rachel didn't want to make things worse than they had to be. "-to work on his song with the boys." It probably wasn't a bad idea to squeeze a little work in with all their fun.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" She narrowed her eyes, still looking at the boy. "You two sort of have a history, don't you?"

_You have no idea._

"A bit, but we're just friends. I can handle myself around him." To reassure the blonde, she nodded and smiled. It seemed to make her relax a bit, but not enough to satisfy Rachel.

"Alright," Quinn mumbled, still hesitant. The starlet couldn't help but wonder why the other girl even cared. Did she adopt feelings for Puck that she wasn't showing? The two didn't seem to get along very well when forced to communicate. "Well other than that, do you have any plans this weekend?" Rachel easily picked up on the rehearsed tone in Quinn's voice. Still, she didn't have anything in her schedule. Her dance classes had been cancelled due to her teacher's trip to Paris. Envy consumed Rachel every time she even thought about the woman staying in some French hotel, absorbing all the culture that the brunette craved. She forced her mind back into the conversation and answered quickly, in hopes of avoiding any such thoughts.

"I don't believe so. May I inquire your reasoning for asking?" She noticed that the blonde's posture was exquisite. Cheering was great for athletics, but you don't get a posture like _that_ from cartwheels and pyramids. Surely, the girl didn't take dance as well. Her form seemed like that of someone who had been dancing for a few years. Granted, it wasn't as good as Rachel's, but it was impressive none the less.

"I was just wondering if you could help me out with some of those things you talked about in your notes." Her gaze fell to her shoes, almost as if she were being shy. Quinn wasn't known for being shy in the least. Rachel assumed she must have truly been insecure about her vocal ability. The starlet couldn't turn someone down that asked for her help; especially when that someone was Quinn Fabray.

"Of course," the starlet sang. "I don't have a car, so if you could come over to my house, perhaps Saturday afternoon, we could work on anything you like. I can even fix you dinner if you want to stay for it. I personally prefer a vegan dinner, of course. But if you have any requests, I'd be delighted to try it. I love a challenge, but I hope you know it might involve the torture and killing of an innocent living creature." She felt herself beginning to ramble, and quickly quieted down.

Quinn giggled and nodded excitedly. "Okay," she said. The smile that trailed across her face felt genuine. "I think I still have your number, but if not I can get it from Kurt." Her gaze went over the brunette's head and fell on the bag of meat sighing against the lockers. The authenticity in her smile quickly vanished, making Rachel feel as though Quinn already left. "I'd hate to keep you, so I'll just text you tonight to let you know; or you can text me. Whatever works for you," Why was she being nonchalant all of the sudden? Rachel didn't like it at all. "I'll see you later." she murmured as she turned around and left.

"Okay," the brunette responded equally as quiet.

"Oh, and Rach," she turned around, her real smile fully intact once again. "I'd love to stay for a meaty dinner, but apparently you torture and kill innocent living creatures for a simple challenge. That's just inhuman." She winked and twirled back around, practically down the hallway.

_Did she just call me Rach?_

Nobody called her Rach, except Finn and Puck. Why did Quinn just use her nickname? Weren't nicknames used for friends? And why did she wink at her? That wasn't something Quinn did.

Was it?

Rachel shook her head and turned back to Puck. In the midst of her confusion, she felt tightness around her cheeks. Hands found her face, and she stumbled upon a smile. How long had that been there?

"My little Jewel is growing up and falling in love!" Puck fanned his eyes and wrapped his arms around her tightly.

Pain shot through Rachel's torso. It was like she swallowed a magic knife that was stabbing her from the inside. A shaky gasp left her lips; a shriek threatening her vocal chords. She had to stay quiet. If anyone heard, they'd try to find out what was wrong. She had to suppress it. But _God_ it hurt. Puck heard her pain and immedietly released her, darting back in worry. Knees trembled between the two of them, and Rachel fell. She leaned forward on one hand and caressed her ribs with the free one. Puck quickly dropped to the floor as well, his concern oozing out of his hurt eyes. He gently placed one hand on the brunette's back. It was so subtle, Rachel wasn't even sure it was there. She noticed that she was gasping. Her lungs heaved and released like they did after a tough musical number. The pleasantness was nowhere to be found this time. There was no satisfaction in her pain. Puck swiped at a tear in his eye and whispered to her:

"Jewel, I'm so sorry. I had no…I didn't…I-I…" he stuttered and slapped his forehead with his palm before trying again. "I thought it stopped."

Rachel's brown eyes met his in an instant before he dropped his view to the tiles on the floor, and all the brunette saw was curly Mohawk. She chuckled bitterly.

"It never stops."


	4. Four

**A.N:  
>This chapter is a little longer than most. I wish I could tell you why, but I don't know. That's just how it ended up.<br>If you guys have any guesses as to what's happening in the plot, feel free to voice it. I would love to see what you guys come up with :)  
><strong>

* * *

><p>Light footsteps hopped up the stairs, and Quinn prepared herself for the ambush. It was Thursday night. She loved Thursday nights. Giggles were muffled from behind her door, and Quinn just smiled. She rose and stealthily ran into her closet. She heard the door squeak open ever so quietly. Then, tiny feet stomped across the room as the children attached to them screamed like animals and jumped on the bed. When they realized Quinn wasn't there, the room became eerily quiet in a unanimous confusion.<p>

"Where is she?" She heard the younger boy whisper.

"I don't know." The girl responded loudly, and then covered her mouth after her brother shushed her.

"Check the bathroom."

Quinn could barely hear their quiet conversation, but the rumbling of their feet told her where they were going.

"We're so gonna get her" The girl said. Both the kids snickered quietly. They slowly opened the door to Quinn's bathroom.

_Let the games begin._

The two kids roared into the bathroom, making as much noise as they could, before stopping again. Quinn wasn't in there, either. Where could she possibly-?

Before either of them had the chance to think, they saw a shadow on the tile floor. The very familiar, confident shadow with her hands on her hips like a scary Peter Pan. They slowly turned around to face their maker. Sure enough, the blonde terror had somehow found them before they could get to her. Where she hid, they didn't care. How she knew they arrived, they didn't care. Trying to find a way out, now _that_ was the primary goal.

"Looking for someone?" The babysitter smirked. The kids giggled and screamed past her. They ran down the stairs laughing with Quinn hot on their trail. Stevie quickly took the lead in front of his younger sister and turned around to see how far ahead he was. Stacy veered left into the kitchen, laughing as she heard her brother run into Sam with a thud. Suddenly, strong arms picked her up. She heard a girly roar as she was thrown about in the air before being tossed on the couch in the living room. Her laughter was shrill as the lioness sat on her. Quinn was sure not to put too much weight on the girl as she greeted her co-babysitter.

"Hey, Sammy," She grinned. He chuckled and dipped his head in greeting. "I thought you were bringing me some kids to watch. I see Stevie, there, hiding behind you…but where is your sister? I really wanted to see Stacy again." The little girl giggled and squirmed underneath her.

"I'm here, I'm here!"

"You know, I thought we really had a bond between us. I guess she just doesn't want to see me." Quinn started to tickle the girl beneath her and gasped. "My, my; this couch sure is squirmy tonight." Stacy laughed and screamed some more "And it's vocal too? What in the world-?"

Quinn stood from the flattened 7-year-old and just stared incredulously. "Stacy? How long have you been my couch?"

Stacy laughed and sat up, Quinn sitting next to her and wrapping her up into a side hug. Quinn kissed her forehead and turned to Sam. She patted the seat next to her and he obeyed her silent request. Stevie quickly crawled up next to his brother, making himself comfortable.

Thursday night was when Quinn's mom went out to dinner with Sam's dad. It was when she and Sam had their bonding time. The kids were delightful. Quinn couldn't help but wish that she could have been more for Sam; more for Stacy and Stevie. When their relationship ended, Quinn thought the idea of babysitting with him was ridiculous. Her mom was gentle, but forceful, and gave her no other options. She could either babysit with Sam, or go out to dinner with the adults. Much to everyone's relief, she chose the kids.

At first, she resented Sam, Stevie, and even Stacy. Her dictatorship took over and she bossed the kids off to bed and made sure Sam understood that she did _not_ want to be there. That happened the first four times she helped babysit. On the fifth night, everything seemed to change for her.

She had forced Stacy and Stevie into their pajamas and then into the guest room where they were told to sleep, and to not leave the room unless it was an absolute emergency. The kids understood the drill by then and pouted into bed after scowling at Quinn. About an hour later, Quinn was passed out on the couch. She woke up with her head on Sam's chest and the sound of metal clanking about in the kitchen. Ignoring Sam, she jolted up and burst into the kitchen. She found little Stacy rummaging around and searching for something. The tiny girl turned around in a droopy fog. Quinn wasn't sure if she was really awake or not. Then she heard the little girl say those familiar words than sent fire into her heart, melting the icy façade she tried so desperately to maintain:

"I had a nightmare. Could you get me a glass of water?"

Sam was behind her suddenly and gave Stacy her water as Quinn staggered back into the living room. Her knees felt weak as she remembered the girl from so long ago. She couldn't remember her name. She couldn't remember her eyes or her face or her hair. The girl was just a blurry figure, trapped in a time when things were different. But she remembered those words. The girl said them every time she was scared. It didn't matter if she really had a nightmare or not. Any time she felt afraid, she would hazily ask Quinn to get her a glass of water. And Quinn always did.

After sending his little sister back to bed with her glass, Sam noticed Quinn's shoulders shaking. He walked to her hesitantly, unsure of whether this was Compassionate Quinn that he loved, or if it was Bitter Quinn that scared him to pieces. As he got closer, he noticed it was neither. This was a side of Quinn he had never seen. Her shoulders were shaking due to the sobs she was trying to suppress. Tears were flowing from her eyes, freely. He looked at her for what felt like the first time. He was finally meeting the real Quinn; the scared girl that couldn't face her past, present, or future, without all these different characters that controlled her status amongst her peers. This girl, he knew, he could never deny. He would never hurt her, and he wouldn't let her cry without trying to comfort her. He wrapped his arms around her and sat with her in his lap, letting her cry. She fell asleep in his arms, her face puffy and swollen, and more beautiful than Sam had ever seen.

When Quinn woke up with a cover on her, and a sweet boy sleeping in the chair across the room, she knew things had changed. Sam wasn't an ex anymore. That family was now her family too, and she wouldn't let them down. She babysat with a completely new attitude. When she started treating the children like real children, she discovered how much she loved them. Stacy always had a soft place in her heart, right next to the girl she would never remember. Now, she looked forward to the Thursday Evans-Fabray Bonding Nights. She cherished them.

This particular night went by smoothly with the kids trying to best each other on a Wii game. They previously played with Barbies for Stacy and Man Hunt for Stevie. When Quinn tried to break out the board games, they all groaned and complained.

"Board games are boring." Stevie whined.

"Yeah, can we keep playing the Wii?"

Sam laughed at them and saw the pouty lip Quinn was using so desperately to win them over. The kids giggled and picked up their controllers to start on a new game. Sam crossed over to take the box from his friend. It took once glance and he understood their reactions

"Are you serious?" He laughed and turned the Chess box to face her. "What are you, 50? No wonder the kids didn't want to play." Still, he sat down and opened the box, setting the game up for the two of them to play.

Quinn scoffed and thumped his forehead as she sat down. "Whatever. I'm not old, I'm educated. Besides, I was going to use the checkers side; much easier to grasp. I used to play it all the time as a kid when we went to Cracker Barrel. They would set up a little checkers board and I would sit there and play whoever wanted to…what?"

Sam was staring at her in disbelief, trying to hold back his laughter. "So, you're trying to justify your game choice because you played it as a kid when you were at…_Cracker Barrel;_ the old people brunch haven?" He lost it. His hearty laugh rang throughout the entire room. Stevie and Stacy paused their game to see if Chess could really be that funny. They stared over the couch at Sam on his stomach, shaking from his laughter, and Quinn was steaming on the other side of the board. They realized it wasn't the game, they were just fighting again. They looked at each other and tried to decide if they wanted in on the fight or not. After a moment of unvoiced discussion, they turned back around and continued Mario Kart.

Quinn sat and let Sam control himself. "Okay, so that was a bad example." She said before making her first move. The pawns had to go first, naturally.

"I disagree. I think that was the best example you could possibly give." He waved his hand dramatically through the air and slammed it back down on the wooden floor. He was putting his weight on his left arm, comfortably as he too, moved his pawn.

They continued in silence for a while, until it was time to break out the bigger chess pieces and think harder about where they should go, what the consequences would be, and how it could help to beat their opponent.

Suddenly, Sam broke the silence. "Do you have any plans for the break?" Quinn snapped her head up, and remembered her plans with Rachel. She remembered how she had forgotten to tell Santana that she couldn't do Movie Night with them. Quinn jumped from her spot and ran up the stairs to her phone. She searched her pristine room, before realizing she never took it out of her bag. Her face slammed into her palm before she darted back down the stairs and rummaged through her bag. The phone was resting on top of her books, as if it were mocking her like a child that won Hide-and-Seek. She yanked it from its place and typed ferociously.

**Santana, forgot to tell you that I can't do Movie Night with you and Britt. I made plans with Rachel. SORRY!**

She sat the phoned down and breathed. She scrolled through her numbers to see if she still had Rachel's. She couldn't find it. Quinn looked at the clock. It was 9:03. Surely, Kurt would still be up.

**Hey Kurt! I'm sorry we haven't talked in a while. I know you're probably busy with something, but when you get the chance, could you send me Rachel's number? I'd love you forever! **

She returned to the board and to the confused Sam she left behind.

"I-is everything okay, Quinn?" He asked. Oh, it must have looked terrible! He asked one question and she was storming about the house in a crazed panic. She would have laughed if the boy didn't look so scared for her.

Instead she sat down and made her move. The chess piece was cool in her hand. "I'm fine. You just reminded me that I had to tell Santana that I couldn't make Movie Night."

Sam gasped. Movie Night was just as sacred as Evans-Fabray Bonding Night. He remembered from when he tried to see if he could join them when he and Quinn were together. They all just laughed at him and told him it wasn't for anybody to join. It was the only alone time the three of them had together. "Why can't you make it? Are you feeling alright?"

"I'm feeling fine; I just made other plans before I even thought about what day I was setting it for." She just chuckled lightly because she knew what was coming next.

"Well what's so important that you won't cancel for Movie Night?" She canceled dates with him and every other guy she dated for Movie Night. She didn't go to check-ups if they conflicted with the Movie Night schedule. It was twice a month, and everything else just revolved around it.

Quinn sighed and shrugged. "I made plans with Rachel and it's my first time hanging out with her, so I don't want to blow her off." She felt her phone buzz and quickly snatched it up to her face. It was Santana.

_You're blowing us off for your girlfriend? Wow. Didn't realize we were that unimportant to you._

Quinn groaned. She didn't want the Latina to be mad at her. She knew that Quinn would cancel anything else for them, but this was a touchier subject than those other things. This was like dealing with a bomb. She couldn't rush things or the affect could be fatal. If she waited too long, the same response could be found. Quinn felt it buzz again in her hand.

_But have fun. Try not to be a total bitch. _

Quinn smiled and relaxed her muscles. That's more what she wanted to hear.

**I'll leave the bitching to you. But thanks.**

She pressed the send button and realized the message was incomplete, before sending another one.

**And she's not my girlfriend!**

As soon as she closed her phone, she felt it buzz again. Sam looked at her, smiling. It was getting to be ridiculous, but Quinn was absolutely adorable. He wondered if she was like this when they texted each other. He shook his head to clear the thought. No; she didn't feel that way about him. He knew why, but it wasn't his place to point it out. He would just have to wait for her to put pieces together.

Quinn flipped her phone back open, already tired of texting. She hated texting. It was so much work, and you had such limited space to really have a discussion. In her opinion, it wasn't worth the time or the effort unless you needed something. Kurt's name popped up on her screen. He was a perfect example. She needed something, so she suffered through the incorrect grammar and lack of conversation to obtain it.

_Idk Quinn. You and Rachel aren't known to be very friendly, and I don't wanna see my little Barbra get hurt. Even if she is a pain._

Quinn felt herself get angry. If Kurt cared so much about Rachel, why would he call her a pain? That's like a false friendship, isn't it? Or an acquaintance-ship of some sort, surely. She felt herself bubbling up with strong irritation and a distinct bit of rage.

**1)** **I know we aren't friendly. I'm trying to fix that, which is why I need her number. We have plans tomorrow. 2) If you don't want to see her get hurt, then I suggest you stop telling her that she's irritating and a pain.**

She hit send and closed the phone. Why was she so angry? After all, far worse things had fallen from her mouth about the brunette. She really had no right to say all that. Rachel wasn't even her friend yet. She sent another message after cooling down.

**I'm sorry. I was out of line. Your friendship with Rachel is none of my business. But could you please help me out? If I don't call her, she'll think I'm not coming.**

Sam crossed his legs and leaned forward. Something was really getting to this girl. She went through every emotion on the chart in a matter of minutes.

"What's going on?" He asked, breaking the silence.

Quinn looked up from her phone after hitting send. A wave of guilt hit her like a tsunami. She had been ignoring one of her closest friends because she was too busy texting other people. Another reason she hated to text.

"Oh, sorry" She said returning to the conversation. "I'm just trying to hunt down Rachel's phone number. Kurt was kind of being a jerk and I fussed at him, so I don't think he's going to give it to me now." She couldn't help but lower her gaze to the phone in her hand. What would she do if Kurt didn't give her the number? Would Mercedes have it? No; she probably already knows about Quinn's outburst and wouldn't help her. Puck would have it, but he was with Rachel tonight. The thought made her shiver. She didn't like them being alone together. If she and Rachel ever became friends, she would warn her to steer clear of the boy.

"You could have just asked me."

Quinn looked up to see the boy beaming at her. Of course! They all went together for prom. She forgot that it was a singles party. After all, Rachel spent most of her time with Jesse. She remembered Finn rushing to rescue her from a good time, and ending up trying to fight Jesse. She scoffed. Finn was such an idiot, sometimes. Jesse was a trained dancer and most likely very skillful at stage fighting. Finn was just this giant mass of nothing that was only scary when he was attempting choreography.

"Do you think I could steal it from you?" She asked, smiling. Sam was going to make this a challenge, she could tell, but he couldn't stay strong against her for too long.

"I don't know," he sang sarcastically. "What's in it for me?"

The kids heard their voices and paused the game again. They were staring at the two of them from the couch . This was their favorite part about going to Fabray household. Quinn and Sam would always start fighting and they would always watch. They took mental notes on what the two teenagers did, because it would probably come in handy when the two of them got old enough to fight like that.

"Tell you what; how about I give you the chance to _not_ get your ass kicked." She smirked. Stacy admired Quinn's confidence. She wished Quinn could be her sister. She didn't like it when she and Sammy were dating. It was really weird. They're like family. Watching them kiss was like watching two siblings kiss. It just wasn't right.

Suddenly, the two of them leapt into each other and started trying to beat the other. Sam picked Quinn up by the waist and slung her over his shoulder. Quinn quickly used all her body weight to fall out of his grip. She landed on the wooden floor and groaned. Her body twitched and she rolled onto her side, whimpering. Sam rushed to her.

"Oh shit, Quinn" He gasped "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to!" He propped her up in his arm and looked at her face. Her eyes were closed in pain. He shifted and used his other hand to reach into his pocket to retrieve his cell phone. He quickly handed it to her. "Here," he said as sat her up against the couch. "I'll get you some Tylenol or something."

As soon as he turned his back to go to the kitchen, Quinn relaxed and looked up at Stacy. Quinn smiled and winked. It was all a part of the plan. Stacy grinned back and had to stifle her giggles. Her babysitter always got what she was willing to fight for.

Quinn quickly took action and found the brunette's number. She typed it into her phone and saved it. Poor Sam was so easy to manipulate. He depended too much on his emotions and care for other people. He was simple to break. When he turned around with pills in one hand and a glass of water in the other, Quinn hopped up from her spot and stretched luxuriously. He gaped at her incredulously and almost dropped the water.

"You know, I'm feeling much better all of the sudden." She smiled and grabbed the pills from Sam, putting them back into their bottle. "I don't think I'll need these. But thanks for Rachel's number, Sammy. I really appreciate your help." She chuckled and tiptoed to peck a kiss on his cheek.

Stacy and Stevie laughed as Sam shook his head and swatted at Quinn's shoulder. They all sat back down on the couch and watched a season of Spongebob before the kids drifted off to sleep. Sam quickly followed, and suddenly, Quinn felt alone. It was almost 12:30 when she sent Rachel a text message.

**Hey, it's Quinn. Not sure if you're a texter or a caller, but I'm just letting you know that I'm game tomorrow if we can still make it. Sleep tight.**

Quinn started to nod off when the phone buzzed

_I'm normally a caller, unless it's late. That's perfect. Let me know when you wake up if you'll be staying for dinner, and if you have any requests. Safe dreams, Quinn._

She felt her lungs get cold when she read the message. She wanted to keep texting her. For the first time, Quinn Fabray actually wanted to text someone. Hope filled her at the thought. It was a sign, surely, that Quinn was perfectly open to being friends. Now it was all up to the loquacious brunette that held the other end.

Deciding it best not to keep the girl awake, she allowed herself to doze off. She dreamt of her prom. Finn was nowhere to be seen and neither was Jesse. Quinn was alone in a crowd of people staring at Rachel onstage. Her pink dress clung to her waist and Quinn noticed something was different about the girl. She couldn't put her finger on it, but something about her outfit wasn't what Quinn remembered. A guitar quietly began to play a song Quinn didn't recognize. The notes of the music were like another living thing within Rachel. They took her voice's hand and danced with it. Rachel closed her eyes, and Quinn followed; listening to the lyrics and music. Listening to that voice.

"_Love me tender, love me sweet_

_Never let me go._

_You have made my life complete_

_And I love you so."_

Quinn listened, letting the song sink into her. She recognized it now. She remembered hearing the brunette humming it to herself while she practiced for Prom. Rachel much preferred singing that song, but was told by Figgins that she couldn't change the set list. Quinn listened and realized how wrong Figgins was. This was beautiful. Rachel's voice matched this better than any song she had heard her sing before. Every breath was perfect; every note, every twitch of Rachel's hands. Her hands! That's when Quinn opened her eyes and looked at the brunette's wrist. Sure enough, she saw what was so different about her appearance.

"_Love me tender, love me long,_

_Take me to your heart._

_For it's there that I belong,_

_And will never part."_

Quinn wrapped a hand around her own wrist, feeling the Gardenia corsage. She looked down only to see that the green ribbon that once matched her eyes was replaced with two ribbons. Pink and blue.

"_Love me tender, love me dear,_

_Tell me you are mine._

_I'll be yours through all the years,_

_Until the end of time."_

Quinn's eyes watered as she glanced up to Rachel's matching corsage. She looked at the way they intertwined perfectly. They were like Rachel and her music. They danced a waltz on her wrist around the flower, looping over and under each other, twisting into one another to create something beautiful. Rachel's eyes suddenly met hers and everyone in the room vanished. The music stopped. Everything was still for a few moments. Quinn just stared at the other girl in awe. Rachel looked at her as she finished the song acapella.

"_Love me tender, love me true_

_All my dreams fulfilled._

_For, my darling, I love you._

_And I always will."  
><em>

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><p><strong>Love Me Tender- Elvis Presley<strong>


	5. Five

_**A.N: Sorry it's been 800 million years since my last update. I'll try to be more consistent. I apologize for any typos, as always!**_

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><p>When Rachel opened her eyes, she felt a sudden panic consume her. She woke to see a frightening zombie-like creature stomping out of a pyramid with a terminator face. It held guns and wore a menacing cross between smile and scowl. The terrifying creature forced a scream out of Rachel's mouth. When she jumped back, her head plummeted into Noah's chest. Then she remembered: she spent the night at his house. This wasn't her room being overrun by monsters; just a silly boy's room with an Iron Maiden poster at the foot of his bed.<p>

Noah groaned and slowly rose into a more comfortable sitting position. He stretched before letting his shoulders slump down. "Thanks for waking me up, loser." he mumbled. His eyes glanced at the clock on his night stand. He was awake at 7:46 on a holiday morning. This wasn't right. It wasn't natural. It wasn't Puck.

He nudged Rachel to the side and lied back down, pulling the covers up viciously. He knew it was no use. If Rachel was up, it probably wouldn't even take five minutes before-

"What should we do now that we're up?"

Noah grumbled and turned his back to the girl with a huff. "_We_ aren't up, Superstar. _You_ are. And if you're so dead-set on doing something, you should go make me breakfast while I enjoy another hour of non-Rachel Berry sleep time."

He didn't have to see the girl to know she was rolling her eyes at him. "That's just the attitude we're trying to break, Noah. You can't lie around all day with nothing. You should get up and go running with me. We can start on your performance with Artie and Sam. Ooh, or we can get up and-"

Noah playfully pushed her off the bed before she could finish. "Too much talking" he sang. Suddenly, he became cold. His eyes shot open and he turned around to see a trail of his precious sheets walking out of his bedroom. That little Jewish bitch! He rose out of bed and stomped after her. Nobody steals the Puckerman's sheets. After following her downstairs, he picked up the pace to catch her. She rolled his sheets up around her like a cloak and ran out the front door. Puck laughed as he followed.

"You're so dead!" he yelled after her. She ran past his truck and across the dirt road, into the field they always played in as kids. The grass hit Puck's knees as he continued his pursuit. A little brunette head marched on, no longer intent on beating him. The boy couldn't help but stop and chuckle. Rachel looked ridiculous. Somehow, in the event of trying to outrun him, she managed to gather all the sheets up in her arms. Some trailed down her thighs, but most of it was just plopped on her shoulders and even wrapped around her head. Still, she hopped forward; completely oblivious to the fact that she resembled a bobble head terrorist.

Puck caught up with her effortlessly and slung an arm around her cushioned neck. "Hey, Jewel," he said, hardly trying to contain his chortling. "Just thought I should let you know that you look real cute." She beamed at him through a grapevine of cotton. "And also that I never wash my sheets." He dropped his arm and walked on.

Rachel froze behind him. He didn't- _what_? She lost control of her body and quickly spazzed out of the dirty bed wear. The cotton was viciously ripped off her body and slammed into the tall grass. Rachel's entire body shook at the thought of what this boy probably did in those sheets. "That's _disgusting_, Noah!" She hollered before landing a smack on the back of his neck. "I'll have you know that you're carrying that bundled up health hazard back to your house. I refuse to partake in assistance."

Puck gawked at her. "_What?_ Rachel Berry, my Jewish Princess, won't help me in this desperate time of need?" He shook his head and dropped his gaze "Damn. You think you know a person…" A smirk played on his face. Rachel just ignored him and sat down. She remembered when they were kids, how she made Noah promise to keep this part of the field mowed at all times. "It's crucial if we're going to be friends." She'd always say. When he asked why, she simply stated that they needed a place where they could always be together to play whenever they wanted without any adults telling them what to do. It quickly changed to more than just a playpen. Soon enough it was their escape. It was the one place in all of Ohio where they could be themselves without worry. They weren't allowed to lie when they were in the section of neatly trimmed grass; almost like a truth circle. Rachel wasn't actually sure if the section was a circle or not. She never told Noah what shape it should be, and it was hard to tell from the ground. It didn't matter to her, though. This one place, where she could only see Noah, grass, and sky, was her only true idea of perfection.

Puck sat down next to her, which gave Rachel the opportunity to stretch out and lie in the grass to watch the clouds. Instead of joining her like he usually did, Puck watched Rachel instead. When she stretched out, he caught a glimpse of a very small bruise on her ribs. It looked like it had been healing. The remains of the bruise Rachel sported on her face last night were virtually gone. Her eye was still slightly swollen with a dark line beneath it, but that was nothing a little foundation couldn't hide, as Puck knew by now.

"So um-"he started, preparing to question the new marks before thinking better of it. "What are your plans for today, malady?"

Rachel glanced up at him. She saw pity in his eyes, but it was wonderfully masked with a convincible sense of cheer in his voice. If Rachel didn't know him as well as she did, she would have fallen for it as an honest question. Then again, if she didn't know him as well as she did, he probably wouldn't have cared enough to avoid the painful topic. Rachel would always be grateful for his attempts. "Well, I have plans with Quinn today and possibly tonight." His eyebrows rose in an instant and a smile broke out on his face. "Not _those_ plans. Honestly, Noah, you would think I could have taught you more about respect. That's completely degrading to know that you imagine Quinn and I-"She tried to say it, but shook her head instead, trying to shake out the blush as well. "That's not happening."

"I know. Don't rub it in my face." he mumbled. After following Rachel's gaze to the sky, he asked her "So if you two aren't doing the nasty, why are you going to her house?"

Rachel simply rolled her eyes. This boy just wouldn't let up. "I'm not going to her house. She's coming over to mine. My dads are out of town this weekend, and I assume the situation will be sensitive enough, given our previous…relations. I would be far more comfortable if it were just the two of us as opposed to having the pressure of her family on us as well." Everything she said was true, but she also just wanted to be alone with the girl. She wanted to see if a friendship was a possibility; and what better place to test the waters than in her own home with no outside pressures? But she didn't think telling Noah that was the best idea.

He knew she was leaving something out. Rachel's eyebrows always rose ever so slightly and her lips pursed a tiny bit. Nobody else would have noticed; but Puck knew this girl better than he knew his little sister. He also knew that if she didn't mention it, she wasn't ready to talk about it just yet, and he respected her wishes as usual. He leaned back on his forearms and lifted his head to the sky. It was warm out, which was unusual fall weather for Ohio. He could actually wear his t-shirt today without getting goose bumps. The grass was soft and tickled his arms. Noah rolled his head before asking "What time do I have to drive you home, then?"

Rachel looked befuddled and shook her head. "I should probably have an answer for that, shouldn't I?" She chuckled. "I suppose that subject could have used more solidification, but I'm sure Quinn was tired and I didn't want to keep her up." She felt around her pockets for her cell phone, but of course, she left it back at Noah's house. A sigh passed her lips as she stood. Puck just stared at her.

"Please tell me that action doesn't mean I have to get up, too." He whimpered. This girl was dragging him all over the place, and it wasn't even noon yet. "If you make me move one more time, I swear you're banned from my house forever."

Rachel giggled and nudged his ribs with her foot. "That just means you'll have to eat bad Chinese food every night that you're alone." She promptly strutted off with a grin plastered on her face.

The door was left open, and Rachel made a mental note to remind Noah that such irresponsibility could have fatal consequences. The carpet was soft on her bare feet. Step by step, she climbed the stairs to Noah's room. At first sight she had to suppress a gasp. His room was a complete disaster. How do boys live like this? Do they really not care that people might _see_ the mound of dirty laundry that covered the floor? Perhaps they had no shame in regards to the stale chips bag or an empty pizza box. This was gruesome. Rachel found herself wondering how she even survived in such a lurid living space. After scanning the room, her eyes landed on her cell phone resting on the nightstand. When she flipped it open she found three text messages, which shocked her. The only time people concerned themselves with her was…well, they didn't really associate with her ever. Kurt did on occasion, to designate shopping trips. Sometimes people would need something, or they were upset with her; but usually she was never spoken to outside of school. She was pretty sure the teachers had better social lives than she did. And yet, here she was with three text messages from three different people. She couldn't help but smile.

The first one was from Kurt.

**You're probably going to get a message from Quinn any time soon. You know how I feel about her. Watch yourself. Don't let her walk all over you, okay?**

Rachel scoffed. It was sweet that he was finally looking out for her, but the fact that he thought she couldn't stand up for herself felt belittling. She was perfectly capable of handling Quinn. Besides, how did he know she was trying to contact her?

She moved on to the next message. This one was from Quinn. Seeing the name made her face tighten in a pointless attempt to hide a smile.

**Hey. I know you tend to wake up freakishly early, so if you're up, let me know when you want me over. If we're still on, I mean.**

Her fingers tapped on key after key. The words didn't seem to be typing fast enough.

_Of course we're still on! Rachel Berry doesn't cancel. However, I resent that remark about my sleeping schedule. Would you like anything for dinner?_

She looked over the message 12 times before deciding it was appropriate to the situation. She didn't want to scare the girl away, but she didn't want her to feel like she was a burden either. Believing she found the perfect balance, she hit the send button.

The last message shocked her a bit. She didn't think the other girl still had her number. She remembered exchanging them when they were forced into lab partnership, but she assumed that the girl deleted her number the day the project was due. Her eyes widened as she read the message.

**Make her breakfast for dinner. Pancakes, sausage, bacon, the works. It's her favorite thing to eat. Don't ask me why, it just is. And if you can't keep yourself from singing, try to stay away from that pop shit. Quinn hates Top 40. **

How in the world did Santana know about her and Quinn practicing today? Maybe the blonde told her, but what was all that about breakfast? Surely they didn't discuss that. Quinn hadn't even verified her stay! She tapped away once again in response.

_What are you talking about Santana? Quinn hasn't even told me if she's staying. I'm sure I should know more about these plans than you._

She tapped her foot before groaning and adding another message.

_I'm sorry. That was rude. Thank you for your help._

Her phone went off seconds after she sent her apology to the girl she never thought she'd apologize to. It wasn't her, to no surprise. Instead, Quinn's name appeared again, and Rachel completely forgot about the Latina.

**You can resent it all you want. That doesn't make it any less true :) I'd be glad to stay if I'm welcome. I don't care what we eat though. Whatever you're comfortable with.**

_I resent that, too! I was thinking about breakfast for dinner. Are you okay with vegan pancakes? Oh, and before it slips my mind again: what time should I expect you? Noah needs to know when to take me home._

Rachel reread the message before remembering that Quinn didn't know that she spent the night with Puck. She quickly went to retract her statement, but as she fumbled for the right key, her finger landed on the one button she was trying to avoid.

Cursing to herself, she tried to cancel the send; but it was too late. In about thirty seconds, she would be a home wrecker. All chances of friendship would be ruined. Who would continue being remotely kind to the girl that slept with the father of their child? Even if she tried to explain the innocence of the night, it wouldn't be enough to save her. A deep sigh passed through her.

Her phone buzzed three times before it registered. She stared at the screen; it was Santana.

**Whatever. Just don't tell her I told you. This conversation never happened.**

Another sigh escaped her. Puck trailed into the room at last, throwing the warm sheets on his bed.

"What's up, Superstar?" His head cocked to the side when he saw her scowling at her phone. "I've got a charger if you need one."

"No. It's fine. I'm just waiting for a response."

They stood in awkward silence. Rachel's eyes were glued to her phone as if it would slip right out of her hands. Noah merely stood behind her, waiting for her to relax her shoulders a bit.

When the buzz rang through the room, Puck jumped back. It probably shouldn't have been a surprise, but the noise was way too loud. "I thought you hated texting-"

"Shush!" the small girl hissed. She opened the message and hoped it wasn't too bad.

**Oh. Well I was going to ask you the same thing. Is an hour okay, or are you still on your date?**

Rachel smiled. Quinn really must have wanted some vocal help. She couldn't imagine this evening would be easy for her.

_It wasn't a date. I just fell asleep. An hour is perfect. Let me know when you leave your house._

**Will do. Thanks again, Rach.**

She stopped staring at her phone just for a moment; long enough to force out the words "Alright, Noah." and grab her belongings.

"It's time to go."


End file.
